A special event took place in Saskatoon on Wednesday night to remember those who have lost their lives in the local sex trade.
Over the past 14 years, organizers of The Day of Mourning say 99 local people have died as a result of involvement in the sex trade.
Don Meikle, the executive director with EGADZ Saskatoon Downtown Youth Centre, says people involved in the local sex trade are predominantly young, Aboriginal and they are vulnerable.
“The sex trade doesn’t really – there are so many different areas – people get addicted to drugs, they get disease, they’re murdered – there are just so many ways that being involved in the sex trade takes their lives,” he says.
Meikle adds event organizers want to bring awareness to the fact that people involved in the local sex trade are not there by choice but for a variety of reasons including poverty, mental health issues and addiction.
He estimates on any given night between 30 to 40 people are on the streets of Saskatoon working in the local sex trade
The Day of Mourning took place at Pleasant Hill Park.